Dark Fibre Africa
| Website | https://dfafrica.co.za/ |
|---|---|
| Coverage | National |
| Map | insert link to coverage map |
Open access
- Yes Same pricing for all ISPs
- No Volume discounts for large ISPs
- Yes Standard agreement for all ISPs
- No Requires an NDA
- Yes Does not sell services to end-users
Note 1 DFA is actively moving away from discount structures, but is at least being transparent about bulk discounts in its price list. Although DFA does have a standard ISP agreement, they do permit some modifications of (non-price) clauses.
Non-discrimination
- Yes Equal network access for all ISPs
- Yes No rollout favouritism
- Yes Promotions available to all ISPs
- Yes No marketing favouritism
- Yes Equal access to maps and tools
Shareholding
- No Has conflicts of interest
- Yes Separate wholesale/retail operations
- Yes Restrictions on information sharing
Note 2 DFA has a conflict of interests because of their Maziv shareholding, but operates separately from the retail operations, and has separate processing of information.
Barriers to entry
- Yes No or low minimum commitments
- Yes No fixed number of ISPs
SLAs and CPE
- Yes Has clear SLAs for all services
- Yes Has clear policy on broken CPE costs
Note 3 Replacement CPE is expensive but there is a clear policy.
Customer information
- Yes Keeps customer record only as needed
- Yes End-user communication left to ISPs
Escalations
- Yes Clear fault logging and escalations
- Yes Escalations are handled efficiently
- Yes Clear point of contact for ISPs
Note 4 DFA have dramatically improved all of these processes recently and provide a clear and efficient escalation process.
Network information
- Yes Comprehensive network notifications
- Yes Prior notification to ISPs if possible
- Yes API available check line status
Note 5 Provision of network information has also improved recently.
Installations
- No Installation times are unreliable
- No No way to track installation status
- No High fees for cancelled installations
- No Same fees for activation and install
Note 6 Installation timelines are communicated but consistently missed. Installation progress needs to be queried manually. Cancelled installations can incur relatively high fees. A new customer is always treated as a new installation.
Upgrades
- Yes Does not do forced upgrades
- Yes Doesn’t claim that upgrades are “free”
Cancellations
- No Cancellation requires 30 days notice
- Yes Provides ISPs line suspension option
- Yes Allows for contract substitution
Note 7 DFA requires 90-day notifications for cancellation. Because DFA is a layer-2 provider any ISP can suspend a line. Substitution does not pause billing if there is a gap in service provision.
Migrations
- No Does not support multiple services
- No Does not support line migrations
Note 8 DFA permits the cession of line between two consenting parties. Other than this, DFA would view the service as a new service, even when it would usually be viewed as a migration between ISPs.
Price increases
- No Gives \<70 days notice of increases
Miscellaneous
- Yes Supports 1500 byte MTU end-to-end
- Yes Current/future network maps available
